Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Much Smaller Mac Mini Coming?

kornyboy said:
Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

I wonder if less than half the size means thinner like the AppleTV or less than half the size in all dimensions.
Click to expand...

It may be exactly like Time Capsule considering that has a 1TB 3.5" HDD. Then this could be a good thing because it may use 3.5" HDDs instead of 2.5" HDDs. :D

QCassidy352 said:
no no no! Stop it, apple! The mini is a *desktop,* get it? Miniaturizing the Air is one thing because there's a real need for the smallest possible laptop. But there's absolutely no reason to make a desktop any smaller than the mini, especially when doing so is going to a) raise prices, or b) reduce power (even further).

The current form factor is great. All the mini needs is some penryn chips and a $100 price drop (and some low-end dedicated graphics, as long as I'm hallucinating :rolleyes:).
Click to expand...

Yeah you better off like the Thread I started whereas I want to put a 128GB Solid State Drive in my Mac Mini with 4GB already installed. :D
 
Never mind smaller - make it green!

I think it would be great if Apple positioned the mini as their "green" computer.

It's already part of the way there since it uses a relatively low amount of power, less material etc. If they could make it use even less power and perhaps change the case to get rid of the plastic, they would have a great green computer.

This is one of the fastest growing sectors of the computer industry, and it's rather embarassing that Apple has been left behind. I think that with their great engineering they could produce one of the best green computers out there!
 
The only real reason I wouldn't want the Mac mini to get any smaller is that I have mounting brackets for my two Mac minis which expect the mini to be a certain size. If I ever replaced one of them, I'd hate to have to replace the bracket(s) as well.

That said, I agree that they could easily make it smaller if they ditch the internal optical drive. (If they do this, the USB port on the new mini need to be able to power the MBA's SuperDrive so we don't have to buy yet another accessory. This is not optional, Apple.)

But I really think the machine is small enough as it is. A good compromise I'd like to see is ditching the optical drive and rearranging the rest of the components so that larger 3.5" hard drives and dedicated GPUs can be used, in the same size case.
 
Yvan256 said:
I bet it's going to be the same form-factor as the MacBook Air (but taller), with the optical drive optional (but with USB ports compatible with the MacBook Air drive), to keep its cost even lower (and allow for a smaller size).

If the computer is targeted at switchers, then they should be able to use the optical drive of their Windows PC (same thing as the MacBook Air), and for only 99$ more you can get a double-layer DVD burner to put on top of it.

Let's just hope it will at least get the same X3100 as the MacBook. A maximum of 4GB would be nice (though a minimum of 2GB max is a must). If space is cramped it could even have 2GB soldered on the motherboard like the MacBook Air. I'm betting it will use a 1.8" drive, too. Apple is planning for the future, and the future is SSD. Why not change the form-factor right now?

One thing I would like is an eSATA port, but in reality I'm just hoping they keep FireWire 400 on it (at least for mini-DV owners, for iMovie).

On the other hand, I'd much rather have a more powerful Mac mini, same form-factor as the :apple:TV and Time Capsule (taller, I wouldn't mind), with a 3.5" drive in it, memory slots (4GB max), decent GPU with dedicated RAM, FireWire 800. :D
Click to expand...

So, what it going to be called? Mac Mini Air? :D
 
iMpathetic said:
:apple: thin client FTW!
Click to expand...

Lol! What possible good could that do? Thin client target markets are corporations with a centralised application served infrastructure (like the one I look after).

Unless Apple is all of a sudden going to aggressively attack the corporate market, which would require fully tested and convincing application distribution server software ready to go (think Citrix, which goes near enough unchallenged in the application serving market but only has an OS X client; the closest they have to a server is the x86 Solaris distribution) and certified enterprise applications which work over said framework; it'll not happen.

Doing away with the Mini as a consumer product makes no sense. It's targeted at potential switchers from PCs who don't want to fork out £799 for an entry level iMac when they've got half the kit the need anyway.

Smaller Mini, quite possibly. Aggressive enterprise marketing to go head to head with Windows Server 2008? Highly unlikely. ;)
 
Apple's recent obsession with smaller is disturbing. Oversized ain't good, either, but sometimes small is small enough, if not too small.

The iPhone, as an example, is fantastic, but a slightly larger one, with more screen space would be ideal for many of us.

A Mac Mini that gives up speed, power, or any kind functionality to make it smaller would just be stupid. Hard enough to justify one for my inventory now; the size has never been a factor in that decision. The fact that it's already smaller (or on par) than several items (routers, external drives, etc) makes it sized just fine.
 
eRondeau said:
Hey, all that nice white plastic is expensive you know! There's gotta be at least $195 worth of plastic covering it right now... make it half the size and there should be substantial cost savings passed along to the consumer! :D:D:D:D

(Great user name by the way! Captain Tony FTW!)
Click to expand...

Could you imagine it with the black outline and aluminum to match the iMac? God I would buy one right away!
 
Regarding green computing and 3.5" drives - Apple should go for the Western Digital GP drives, which are very cool running and quiet. Capacities up to 1TB is available.
Here in Denmark the RE2 enterprise drive costs just a fraction more than the normal consumer drive (at 1TB that is) and it's one of the cheapest 1TB drives around (at 300$ - the base Mac Mini is some 900$ atm for comparison)
 
And here I was thinking they could double the size--same front size but twice as deep (or even more) front-to-back. They might then fit a full 3.5" HD and a full-length swappable GPU slot! A gamer's microtower, depending on the buyer's chosen GPU option.

For cooling, I suppose the GPU card might need to be on top under mesh, bumping the optical drive down.

Oh well, I can dream :eek:

For the non-gaming majority, price is probably more important than GPU options. It would be great to see a sub-$500 Mac once again.
 
LEStudios said:
So, what it going to be called? Mac Mini Air? :D
Click to expand...

You're close.... the Mac Air.

Think about it.... they already have the $99 optional SuperDrive that "supposedly" only works with the MacBook Air. All it would take is some software or firmware on the Mac Air's side to make it recognizable to that system.

I wouldn't mind this at all. Make the Mac Air have the following specs and I would buy it in a heartbeat for my entertainment system:

2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn
160GB HDD
2GB pre-installed RAM, non upgradeable
1 x FW400 port
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x Gigabit Ethernet port
1 x HDMI port, with included HDMI-to-DVI cable adapter to use with LCD screens
1 x Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)
Airport Draft N
BT 2.1 + EDR
New version of Apple TV's Take 2 software that can be run like any other application in OS X Leopard for those that have the Mac Air connected to an HDTV.
 
If they can make it the same size as Time Capsule that would be good. If they do this then maybe they could fit a desktop hard drive in there. That would make people happy. Notebook vs Desktop processor doesn't matter because they are about the same in terms of power these days.
 
KindredMAC said:
You're close.... the Mac Air.

Think about it.... they already have the $99 optional SuperDrive that "supposedly" only works with the MacBook Air. All it would take is some software or firmware on the Mac Air's side to make it recognizable to that system.

I wouldn't mind this at all. Make the Mac Air have the following specs and I would buy it in a heartbeat for my entertainment system:

2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn
160GB HDD
2GB pre-installed RAM, non upgradeable
1 x FW400 port
2 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x Gigabit Ethernet port
1 x HDMI port, with included HDMI-to-DVI cable adapter to use with LCD screens
1 x Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack)
Airport Draft N
BT 2.1 + EDR
New version of Apple TV's Take 2 software that can be run like any other application in OS X Leopard for those that have the Mac Air connected to an HDTV.
Click to expand...

The :apple:TV would look a seriously bad buy of mine if those Mini specs ever came to fruition. :drool:
 
distortedloop said:
Apple's recent obsession with smaller is disturbing. Oversized ain't good, either, but sometimes small is small enough, if not too small.

The iPhone, as an example, is fantastic, but a slightly larger one, with more screen space would be ideal for many of us.

A Mac Mini that gives up speed, power, or any kind functionality to make it smaller would just be stupid. Hard enough to justify one for my inventory now; the size has never been a factor in that decision. The fact that it's already smaller (or on par) than several items (routers, external drives, etc) makes it sized just fine.
Click to expand...

It depends. If the price dropped with the size (and drop in power), then considering that as it is the Mac Mini is no good for graphics or gaming as it is, then surely those buying it will get a tiny computer, at a lower price. And I'm sure performance will still be the same.
 
I cant wait im so excited!!!!!

I NEED this update the day it comes out i am buying an imac and maybe even a mini!!!!!

can any one logically guess on how soon is soon
i hope/geuss it will be next week on tuesday to start off april!!! :)
 
iDAG said:
If they can make it the same size as Time Capsule that would be good. If they do this then maybe they could fit a desktop hard drive in there. That would make people happy. Notebook vs Desktop processor doesn't matter because they are about the same in terms of power these days.
Click to expand...

I hope that they do not use the TC/AppleTV form factor just for the sake of change. The current size of the mini has a smaller desktop footprint which is more important to me then height.

Any of the following are compelling reasons to buy an update
Processor speed increase
Faster bus
Higher RAM limit
eSATA port
Graphics power increase
Disk speed/size increase
802.11n
...

Things nobody has ever complained about:
The form factor being to big
 
Design VERY similar to Apple TV/Time Capsule/AEBS is what I would expect.

anim8or said:
2. appletv-like enclosure with a bluray/superdrive built in....

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Not going to happen. There's no way they'd have a bluray drive make its appearance in the stinkin' Mac Mini/Mac Air. If anything, I'd think they'd first put the bluray into the Mac Pro, since that thing is a beast.
 
time-capsule.jpg
LEStudios said:
It may be exactly like Time Capsule considering that has a 1TB 3.5" HDD. Then this could be a good thing because it may use 3.5" HDDs instead of 2.5" HDDs. :D
Click to expand...


No the time capsule is kind of big!!
im pretty sure it is going to be smaller than the time capsule!!:):apple:

not shorter, but a little bit less wide
 
Apple would not have made new software for the :apple:TV if they were going to replace it with a new Mac mini.

Also, the :apple:TV goes next to your TV, the Mac mini/Mac Air goes on your desktop. This means no HDMI port on any Mac.

What we can almost be sure of: the next revision/replacement of the Mac mini is going to have the same form-factor as either the MacBook Air external SuperDrive or the :apple:TV/Time Capsule.

Myself, I'd rather see a taller Mac mini with the same form-factor as it is now.

P.S.: yes Time Capsule and :apple:TV are big, but they do have built-in power supplies unlike the Mac mini which is external. Mind you, the CinnaMount for Mac mini power supply takes cares of that (installed under your desk), but still. ;-)
 
Forgive me for not reading the whole thread but it's believable that the Mac mini could get smaller, I can see Apple using flash drives like in the MBA and claiming that you don't need the space... :rolleyes:

Add to that they can sell the Superdrive as an external add-on so it's an easy thing to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back